Outside rear view mirrors of motor vehicles, which comprise a carrier plate and an external housing which are coupled to one another are widely known, the carrier plate being provided with fasteners which are intended to allow coupling of a position adjusting mechanism, such an adjusting mechanism allowing operation from inside of the vehicle, in order to position the carrier plate and consequently the mirror itself according to the sighting requirements of the driver of the vehicle.
The carrier plate of an outside rear view mirror is generally formed by an integral shell, which is obtained by plastic injection molding, mounting devices, which are intended for mounting an adjusting mechanism, being formed in the integral shell. The adjusting mechanism here is either a mechanical adjuster or an electrical glass adjustment drive, which has a virtually circular surface.
On its rear side the carrier plate is connected to the glass adjuster and carries the mirror glass on its front side.
A fastening is disclosed by DE 102005050603 A1. The fasteners disclosed comprise fastening seats, which are arranged peripherally in the carrier plate and are each provided with two side walls, opposing elastic pins being integrally defined with the basic shell. This affords the glass adjuster a flexible attachment to the carrier plate, but the plate itself is inflexible.
Outside rear view mirrors are used in numerous embodiments for the mirror glass. In addition to purely plane mirror glasses, aspherical glasses, partially spherical glasses and convex glasses are used. Here the plastic carrier plates are matched to the curvatures, so that all types of mirror glasses can be connected over their entire area to the carrier plate. This is important in view of the type approval regulations, which require that in the event of impact against an obstacle no glass splinters greater than a specific size may become detached from the carrier plate.
In terms of production, however, this makes it necessary to manufacture and stock glass carrier plates in different variants.